Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma, on Friday received commendations for the solid road construction being carried out by his administration in the state, especially the Owerri-Okigwe Road.
The commendations poured in from eminent professors, including a former minister, at the 15th edition of Eni Njoku Lecture series held at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), according to a press release issued by Oguwike Nwachuku, Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to Governor Uzodimma.
A former Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo, who was the guest lecturer, praised Governor Uzodimma for the solid construction of the Owerri-Okigwe Road, which hitherto was a death trap to motorists.
The former minister, who is also a former vice-chancellor of UNN, said he drove through Okigwe-Owerri road two weeks before with his family and “there was no single pothole on the road”.
Prof Nebo said he was satisfied with the quality of the construction, noting that “commuters had before now suffered as a result of the deplorable condition of the road”.
He also praised the governor for initiating the dredging of the Oguta/Orashi River to the Atlantic, which will lead to the establishment of a seaport in the South East.
He told Governor Uzodimma that if he accomplished that, he should be assured that history will never forget him and that he has written his name in gold in the South East forever.
Nebo, who spoke on the topic ‘Science and Technology as Allies with Good Governance in Wealth Creation and Poverty Reduction’, told Governor Uzodimma that what he was doing in Imo State were examples of how good governance can create wealth.
He emphasized that more of such legacies were needed in the South East for the creation of wealth and reduction of poverty.
Prof Nebo charged governors in the South East to evolve ways of initiating programmes that will create wealth for the teeming unemployed youths in the region.
He praised the organisers of the Eni Njoku Lecture Series for their resilience in sustaining the legacies of the late don, saying that “posterity will always be kind to the icon for his trail-blazing efforts in the development of academics in Nigeria”.
Recall that the late Prof Eni Njoku, born 6 November 1917 in Ebem, Ohafia, present-day Abia State, was the first vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos (1962-1965). Thereafter, he was appointed the vice-chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1966-1970). He also served in the House of Representatives as Federal Minister of Mines and Power, and was chairman of the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria. He has a hostel named after him at UNN.
Also speaking at the lecture, Prof F. C. Chilaka of the Department of Biochemistry at UNN applauded Governor Uzodimma for constructing durable roads in Imo State.
Prof Chilaka said he was pleasantly amazed recently, when they went to bury a late colleague, to discover that “Owerri to Okigwe that used to take three hours because of the bad state of the road now takes only 45 minutes”.
In like manner, Prof Jerry Ugwuanyi, a former Dean of Faculty of Biological Sciences, UNN, who said that he was among those who went to bury their departed colleague, described the new Owerri-Okigwe road as “simply amazing”.
“As a frequent user of the road, I was truly amazed that the governor has turned it to a motorist’s delight through solid road work,” he said.
The event was well attended by academics, students and other invited guests.
